August, 1830.

Almost immediately after the Reply to Hayne, Mr. Webster was engaged with the Attorney-General of Massachusetts in one of the most remarkable criminal cases on record, and on August 3d made the argument in the trial of John Francis Knapp for the murder of Captain Joseph White.

The following is a summary of the facts: On the night of the 6th of April, 1830, the town of Salem was visited by a desperado who entered the house of Joseph White, a wealthy and respectable citizen, and murdered him in his bed. The citizens formed a vigilance committee and worked without avail until there came a rumor that a prisoner in the New Bedford jail knew something of the affair. He was accordingly brought up before the grand jury, and on his testimony Richard Crowningshield, of Danvers, was indicted. A few weeks later Captain Joseph Knapp, a shipmaster of good character, received a strange note from Belfast, Maine, which was signed by Charles Grant, Jr. This note threatened exposure unless money was forwarded. Knapp could not understand it. He showed it to his sons, Francis and Joseph, Jr., who resided in Wenham. The wife of the latter was a niece of the late Mr. White, and was his housekeeper prior to the murder. When Joseph saw the letter he said it contained trash, and told his father to hand it to the vigilance committee. When they received the letter they sent to Belfast to find the writer. This proved to be one Palmer, who had been in state prison and who was intimate with Crowningshield. He said he saw, on the 2nd of April, Frank Knapp and a man, Allen, in company with Crowningshield, and that he heard the latter say that Frank Knapp wished them to kill Mr. White, and that Joseph Knapp would pay them one thousand dollars.

After the murder the Knapps reported that, on the 27th of April, they had been attacked by robbers on their way from Salem to Wenham. The purpose of this will be seen in what follows. On the testimony of Palmer the Knapps were held for investigation, and on the third day Joseph made a full confession of the murder and of the fabrication of the robbery story. He had found that Mr. White intended to leave his (Knapp's) wife but fifteen thousand dollars by will, and he thought that if he died intestate she would come in for one-half of the estate, as the sole representative of Mr. White's sister. Under this impression he determined to destroy the will. Frank agreed to hire the assassin, and he (Joseph) was to pay one thousand dollars for the deed. Crowningshield was hired; he entered the house by a window and committed the murder. So cool was he that, as he said, he paused to feel the pulse of the old man to be sure he was dead. Frank was waiting the issue, while Joseph, who had got the will, was in Wenham at his home. When Crowningshield heard that the Knapps were in custody, and that Joseph had confessed, he committed suicide in his cell.

At a special term of the Supreme Court at Salem, July 20th, indictments for murder were found against Francis Knapp as principal, and Joseph Knapp and George Crowningshield (a companion of Richard) as accessories. The trial of Francis took place August 3d, with Mr. Franklin Dexter and Mr. W. H. Gardner for the defence, and Mr. Webster assisting the Attorney-General in the prosecution.1. P. 239, l. 13. 1. Mr. Lodge says that this account of the murder and analysis of the workings of a mind, haunted with the remembrance of the horrid crime, must be placed among the very finest masterpieces of modern oratory. "I have studied this famous exordium," he says, "with extreme care, and I have sought diligently in the works of all the great modern orators, and of some of the ancient as well, for similar passages of higher merit. My quest has been in vain."2. P. 241, l. 23. 1. Mr. Webster's appearance for the prosecution gave rise to some complaints on the part of the defence, who intimated that he was in the interest of Mr. Stephen White, a residuary legatee of the murdered man. The fact was that both the Attorney-General and the Solicitor-General were old men, and had asked for Mr. Webster's assistance.3. P. 243, l. 20. 1. Chief Justice Parker.]4. P. 248, l. 10. 1. Mr. Webster's presentation of the evidence is omitted. Cf. Webster's Complete Works, Vol. VI., p. 61.

Knapp was convicted as principal and sentenced to death. At the November term Joseph was convicted as accessory and sentenced to share the same fate. George Crowningshield proved an alibi, and was acquitted. The argument in the Goodridge case stands in marked contrast to this; and it must be conceded that, as a presentation of the law and the evidence, with no attempt to work upon the feelings of the jurymen, it is a work of higher quality. As a specimen of eloquence, of dramatic setting forth of the horror of such a deed, of the experiences of the criminal, and of the certainty that "murder will out," the argument has no equal in the language.

For a remarkable analysis of Mr. Webster's career as a lawyer, see Rufus Choate's address before the students of Dartmouth College in 1853 in "Memorial of Daniel Webster from the City of Boston."